CIRC expects faster insurance premiums growth

The headquarters of the China Insurance Regulatory Commission in Beijing. It said recently that insurers can put premiums generated from policies written before 1999 into isolated accounts and invest in blue chips. [Provided to China Daily]

BEIJING - The China Insurance Regulatory Commission (CIRC) upgraded the outlook of premium revenues in the country on Thursday, projecting an average annual growth of 17 percent over the coming seven years.

CIRC chairman Xiang Junbo said he expected the country's premium revenues to reach 5.1 trillion yuan ($827 billion) by 2020.

Xiang's latest premium projection was significantly higher than their 4.55 trillion yuan prediction in July.

The revision came after the State Council, China's cabinet, last month vowed to speed up development of commercial health insurance to support ongoing medical reforms.

The expected rapid growth in the coming years will enable insurers to manage total assets worth 20 trillion yuan by 2020, Xiang said.

By the end of July, insurance premium revenues rose 19.8 percent from a year ago, with 9.33 trillion yuan of total assets under management, according to the CIRC.

Still, Xiang warned the insurance industry should be careful about credit risks as default cases in the few past months greatly increased risks.

"We should take effective measures to prevent the insurance sector from systemic and regional financial risks," he said.